NETHERLANDS LOCKDOWN COFFEE SHOPS CODE

NETHERLANDS LOCKDOWN COFFEE SHOPS CODE

All customers must show a vaccination pass, in the form of a QR code on their phones, to buy cannabis in a coffee shop, maintain a 1.5-meter distance while inside and wear masks while ordering. but are allowed to stay open until midnight for takeout. Coffee shops must stop serving at 10 p.m.

'Įven though the lockdown has ended, strict rules remain for the entire Dutch hospitality sector. 'The takeaway business has been excellent,' says Maeve Larkin, who works in Hunters coffee shop in the centre. In a survey by Trimbos, a Dutch mental health and addiction research institute, 41% of 1,563 respondents said they were using cannabis more since the coronavirus pandemic. 'Especially at the beginning of the pandemic, when people were stockpiling in case coffee shops closed during a lockdown.' 'In residential areas business has been especially good,' says Helms. Takeaway sales have increased significantly. While cafes have been empty over the past two years due to a lack of tourists, demand for cannabis has surged. Therefore, the shops were allowed to stay open for takeaway service, even during the strictest lockdowns. The worry was that people would turn to the streets and illegal dealers if they kept the coffee shops closed. When coronavirus overwhelmed Europe in March 2020, the Dutch government announced a strict lockdown and ordered all hospitality to close but not the coffee shops. They struggled to make any revenue, only surviving due to Government financial aid, which covered their rent and staff leave. 'The coffee shops in the centre were really in survival mode ,' he says. According to Joachim Helms of the coffee shop owners' association BCD, they are heavily reliant on tourism. More than half of the capital's 167 coffee shops are in the centre of Amsterdam. 'For business, it's been devastating,' says Nick, a city centre coffee shop worker. While some have adapted, there are fears that some may be in danger of closing. They are classed as essential businesses, unlike restaurants, cafes and nightclubs.Ĭannabis cafes have suffered due to the lack of tourist trade, responsible for a large share of their revenue.

Dutch coffee shops never closed entirely during the pandemic.

Netherlands lockdown coffee shops